Tag Archives: eggs

It’s been too long since I last wrote and I plan to fix that this year. I am putting it on my calendar to write something at least once a week!
So what have we been up to?

ALOT

Fried, a very curious Turkey from 2014

Last year we tried our hand a raising Turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner. In Oct we culled two Broad Breasted turkeys (female, 22 lbs, male 27 lbs). It was a great success and some of the best turkey I have ever had, so this year we have two Bourbon Red turkey poults. They are a heritage breed, so they grow a little slower and don’t have a that huge breast meat you expect to find in store bought, but I hear they taste even better.

Gollum and her Welsummer baby

We also have 11 chicks, 10 are straight run Olive eggers from a local breeder (should lay olive colored eggs if they are hens). All cockerels will be sent to freezer camp and enjoyed for dinner (since we live in city limits and can’t have roosters). Gollum (one of our barnyard mix hens) wanted to hatch the golf balls in one of the nest boxes so we went to the feed store (Buckley’s Homestead Supply in Colorado Springs) and got her a day old baby to raise. This one is a Welsummer, which is a Dutch breed of domestic chicken that lays a DARK brown egg.

Greenhouse from Harbor Frieght

I have been taking a ton of gardening classes at the CSU extension and learning a little more than I already knew and enjoying the interaction and conversation. I have made some grow bags out of the chicken feed bags (just like I made the shopping bags, but with small handles for moving them) and I plan to grow most our peppers and tomatos in them this year. That way with the cold hits I can move them into the greenhouse to finish the season. On that note, I got a Greenhouse as an early Mothers Day gift this year. Our small urban yard is working out very well for us:-)

Grow out Coop with Creeper Fencing

Last year we built a coop out of a double oven cabinet that we laid on it’s side. The window side of this coop is the Nursery (Gollum her baby live here), the wood door area is the Grow out Coop (area for the chicks to get to about 12/14 weeks old when they are culled or added to the big girl coop). The Cabinet doors are just that, cabinets, for treats, oyster/egg shells, bedding, extra feeders/waterers. Under the coop we built removable creeper fencing so the little ones can hid from the big hens as they integrate into the flock.

More next week, I have to go dig some of the wet slimy soil/feed from the very wet chicken tun and find a way to keep it a little dryer in there, since it’s been raining for three days and no end in sight.

Chiken Lips has a small urban homestead with edible and flower gardens, chickens a greenhouse and has lots of fun teaching our children about the importance of our food and out environment!

BROODY HEN!!!

Well, George has gone Broody. What is Broody? Well it’s when a chicken gets the urge to sit on eggs to hatch them. George currently has been sitting on golf balls for about 5 days. Yes, golf balls, they give her something that can’t go “bad” to sit on. I have been removing all eggs I find as soon as possible. I am hoping to get her some fertile eggs on Thursday (looking like some Buff Brahma eggs will arrive Thursday morning) and move her to the old dog house (the new broody house, AKA Maternity ward/Nursery) to incubate and raise some chicks!

I will add more later on this excitement!

EGGS!!!!

Bluey

Bluey laid her first egg last Wed and has laid an egg almost every day since. She was 21 weeks old. I am sure Clarisse will start any day now, she seams to be a week younger.

Bluey’s first egg compared to Georges small egg

Motion-Sensing Spotlight with Remote Control

I go this great light to product test! It is a battery operated Motion-Sensing Spotlight with Remote Control. It’s lighting up the coop at night if I need to go lock the girls in after dark and will turn on if anything tries to get in after dark. My nephew helped me install and adjust this light to work when someone (or something) is near the front of the chicken coop. I love how easy it was to install, even easier to adjust and the remote control option is wonderful. I can turn the light on by remote before I walk out to lock the girls in for the night and if a raccoon of fox get in the Motion-Sensing Spotlight scares them away.

I recommend this light to anyone who needs a quick install Motion-Sensing Spotlight. It would work well for a pathway, driveway, garbage can areas! I just love how it’s keeping my girls safe 🙂

Chicken coop light up with the Motion-Sensing Spotlight by Mr. Beams 🙂